


#oh dear

by reversedhymnal (Hymn)



Series: <3 [3]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Chatting & Messaging, KH3 spoilers, Kingdom Hearts III Spoilers, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Social Media Fic, THIS IS STILL NOT THE CORONA FIC, as in riku still doesn't realize what all these feelings of ATTRACTION even mean, in-game fic, riku you'll always be the introspective angst bb of my soul
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 21:48:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21961564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hymn/pseuds/reversedhymnal
Summary: Riku was getting terrible sleep these days. When worry didn't keep him staring into the dark, now he had Sora occupying his mind in new, stressful ways. But considering he'd only just recognized these increasingly odd, turbulent feelings asattraction, Riku forgave himself the late nights, especially this last one: tossing and turning with a weird, giddy sort of warmth running through him, head full of stars and heartmarks and #wishing you were here, Sora's gentle smile a beacon in the dark.Still, Riku could have done with a bit more shut eye. The ringing of chisels as the citizens of Thebes attempted to reduce rubble into manageable pieces was making his headache even worse.
Relationships: Kairi & Riku & Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Series: <3 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1576135
Comments: 22
Kudos: 123





	#oh dear

**Author's Note:**

> in my heart of hearts riku is always going to be my special introspective angst bb & kairi is always gonna be that punk calling everyone a lazy bum ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

Riku was getting terrible sleep these days. When worry didn't keep him staring into the dark, now he had Sora occupying his mind in new, stressful ways. But considering he'd only just recognized these increasingly odd, turbulent feelings as _attraction_ , Riku forgave himself the late nights, especially this last one: tossing and turning with a weird, giddy sort of warmth running through him, head full of stars and heartmarks and #wishing you were here, Sora's gentle smile a beacon in the dark.

Still, Riku could have done with a bit more shut eye. The ringing of chisels as the citizens of Thebes attempted to reduce rubble into manageable pieces was making his headache even worse. 

To distract himself, Riku took out his gummiphone while Mickey wandered the area, Riku keeping close behind. Nothing new on the media feed from Sora since his farewell photo with Buzz and Woody, which was somehow both a relief and a disappointment. Riku tried not to think about it too hard, emotions buzzing louder than they should with sleep deprivation; better to avoid them -- to avoid _Sora_ \-- right now. He pulled up Kairi's most recent post instead, from only an hour ago: a selfie of her and Lea having breakfast, Lea actually asleep in his bowl of porridge next to her.

You'd think a magical place that's put time on hold would mean regular sleep, but noooo, no it does not! T_T  
#training #what is weariness? #am i actually dreaming? #want bed #lea #axel #he's going to drown

 _comments_  
**RIKU:** Can I drown myself in porridge too?  
**KAIRI:** ): ): what's wrong?  
**RIKU:** Nothing, just a long night.  
**RIKU:** Sleepy.  
**KAIRI:** Welcome to the club  
**KAIRI:** Meetings every wednesday, snacks provided  
**KAIRI:** /offers up porridge

Riku was blearily typing out a reply when he nearly walked straight into Mickey. The king had come to a halt at the top of a flight of stairs, once grand, now busted so badly they were nearly unusable. Riku asked, “Everything okay?”

“...Thinking,” Mickey responded, expression on his face very serious.

Riku, too sleepy to offer any worthy contribution, went back to his gummiphone.

 **RIKU:** /falls face first thanks  
**LEA:** o man, i think some went up my nose  
**LEA:** why’d you let me sleep there kairi?!  
**KAIRI:** You just looked so peaceful :”D  
**RIKU:** Careful, Lea. She’ll draw on your face if you give her the chance.  
**KAIRI:** THAT WAS ONE TIME  
**KAIRI:** I SAID I WAS SORRY  
**RIKU:** But did you MEAN it??  
**KAIRI:** ………  
**RIKU:** Yeah, that’s what I thought. :p  
**LEA:** haha duly noted  
**LEA:** but call me axel, man  
**LEA:** i can’t figure out how to change it on here yet  
**RIKU:** Okay.  
**RIKU:** Zzzzz...  
**KAIRI:** Uh oh  
**KAIRI:** Exactly how sleepy are you O:  
**RIKU:** Uhm.  
**KAIRI:** XD; oh no  
**LEA:** : am i missing something here?  
**RIKU:** No!  
**KAIRI:** Riku is a MESS when he doesn’t sleep  
**RIKU:** Am not!  
**KAIRI:** Are too!  
**LEA:** uhh  
**LEA:** that doesn’t sound too conducive to world saving  
**RIKU:** Yep, we’re doomed.  
**KAIRI:** /facepalm

Kairi wasn’t wrong, exactly, but Riku had also been forced to learn how to deal with a lack of sleep. Being trapped in the Dark Realm and fighting for your life and the lives of your friends tended to do that. Still, maybe Riku had grown too comfortable out here in the worlds of light, with Mickey and Sora and everyone else at his side. He was _definitely_ feeling too loopy for comfort. He put away the gummiphone, fighting to focus on more pressing concerns.

Mickey was still staring down at Thebes, worry etched all over his face.

"What's up?"

"It’s just… It looks as though we've come at such a bad time!"

"Yep," Riku couldn't help but agree. "We could try the Dark World again?"

It was only a token effort; Riku knew Mickey wouldn't concede. And to his shame, half of Riku's reasoning in suggesting it stemmed not for Aqua, but from his desire to avoid Meg and the memory of her lips pressed to Sora's cheek. A reaction which still didn't quite make sense to Riku, but probably had something to do with what Kairi had called his "skewed perception."

Despite his recent revelation, Riku was struggling to understand the shifting landscape inside him, the new avenues opening within his heart and mind. Why it was happening _now_. As far as he could guess, it seemed that, since he finally had control over the darkness in his heart, he had ample energy left over to start being a _teenager_ , complete with helplessly confused, utterly absurd emotions Riku didn't comprehend and couldn't control. 

As if saving all the worlds wasn't already hard enough. 

He blew out an unhappy breath, squinting into the early morning light as those chisels steadily chipped away at his brain, and waited for Mickey to come to a decision. 

"No," Mickey told him, determination edging into his voice. "You're not ready to go back there yet. And we can't afford to wait. Bad timing or not, we need to find Hercules."

"Aha! Looking for Wonder Boy, are you?"

Riku winced. Was it possible to call into being exactly what you wished to avoid if your reasoning was petty enough? Quite possibly, or at least, it seemed plausible if it were _Riku_ doing the wishing. He turned with the king to face Meg, whose low voice was familiar for all Riku had only ever heard it from the gummiphone's speakers before now.

Meg studied them, soot stained and weary but smirking nonetheless, arms crossed and hip cocked defiantly. "Not sure if I've ever seen you around these parts before," she said. "Though your clothes certainly call to mind a particular, overly exuberant junior hero I've grown begrudgingly fond of."

 _Kissing_ , Riku's traitorous brain supplied. _Fond enough to kiss!_

"Megara!" Mickey exclaimed, clasping his hands together and beaming. 

She arched a brow at the king, unimpressed. "I see you have me at a disadvantage. But since you're already feeling chummy, at _least_ call me Meg."

Mickey's ears twitched, chastened. Despite himself, his headache and exhaustion and desire to drown himself in porridge than deal with any of this new weirdness inside him, Riku found himself softening.

Because for all that Riku had expected, for whatever weird, Sora-related reason, to dislike Meg on sight, he knew immediately that he couldn't. Riku recognized the look of her, the truth behind that drawling tone: the wariness of someone who'd seen and done bad things, things that they regretted, and who was determined to atone, no matter the struggle.

Conditioned fear, and the bravery to break through it.

Silently, Riku apologized for every mean thought he'd ever had about Megara. Riku knew how that fear felt, after all. He'd seen it on Naminé's face more than once, too, as well as the courage to stand up to it, to defy the fate given her. Riku _couldn't_ dislike Meg. No amount of cheek-kissing selfies was worth the effort. 

The king said, "Oh, gosh, I'm sorry, Meg! It's just so good to finally meet you! Sora's told us so much, and of course we saw his videos!"

"Videos?"

"And pictures," Riku offered, only a trifle grudgingly.

Meg relaxed. Though he tried to disguise it, Riku couldn't help a reflexive smile: one mention of Sora's name and down went her defenses. Riku wasn't surprised. Sora had that same effect on him, after all.

"So you _do_ know him. That weird little phone thing he had did the pictures, right?" she was saying. "He mentioned something about showing his friends. So then let me guess, hmm, the short, ever so friendly one with the adorable ears must be King Mickey. Right?"

"Right!"

"That leaves you," Meg purred, eyes on Riku. She smiled, slow and mocking; Riku braced himself, dreading what she might say. "Mm, yep. Sora was right: a handsome knight _far_ too prone to frowning."

Riku… blinked.

For all that he'd braced himself for it, Riku had not been prepared. He wanted to blame it on lack of sleep or stress, but he couldn’t be certain exactly why he felt so blindsided. His emotions had _no right_ to be acting the way they currently were, wild and strange and gibbering with panic. After all, _a handsome knight far too prone to frowning_ was the sort of thing Sora might say, laughing and easy, and once upon a time Riku would have been amused, maybe a little smug, and _definitely_ teased Sora for it.

Not any longer, apparently. 

How did words work again? Riku had no clue.

"Aw," Mickey said. "Riku smiles much more now than he used to!"

Riku, still reeling, pointed at Mickey like a grateful idiot.

"Hey," Meg laughed. "Not my words, buddy. I mean, Sora had a _lot_ to say about you both, so I summarized. But you _have_ to be Riku, the excitable goof's best friend?"

"Ye-es," was about all Riku managed.

"I have a feeling," Meg said, laughter banked but still threading through her husky voice, "that the pleasure's mostly going to be mine. But now, to business. You boys looking for the hero of the hour, or did my eavesdropping mislead me?"

\---

Thankfully, despite the still charred taste to the city's air, Hercules was happy enough to depart Thebes and escort Mickey and Riku to the Coliseum that afternoon. Sans Meg, which was just fine by Riku. Her off-brand wit and humor honestly made it impossible not to like her, but she was also _entirely_ too good at teasing him, and Mickey had been zero help in fending her off.

He'd been too busy taking photos, the traitor.

**MICKEY:**

_A picture of Meg laughing and tousling Riku's hair as he tries to duck away._

Watch out, Sora! I think Megara has a new favorite!  
#they bicker so sweetly #thebes #meg #megara #riku 

_comments_  
**SORA:** no waaaaaay  
**SORA:** but also HAHA RIKU YOUR FACE  
**RIKU:** >:|  
**SORA:** exactly! XD  
**KAIRI:** I'm so relieved  
**RIKU:** About what?!  
**KAIRI:** That there's someone to mess with you while we're apart :'D  
**RIKU:** >:|  
**SORA:** hahahahah  
**KAIRI:** :3  
**KAIRI:** Please tell Meg I said thank you!!!  
**MICKEY:** Sure thing, Kairi!  
**RIKU:** You're all terrible friends.  
**SORA:** i think you mean THE BEST  
**RIKU:** Nope, definitely not.  
**MICKEY:** He's smiling right now, so I think he DEFINITELY means "the best"  
**KAIRI:** :D  
**SORA:** :D  
**RIKU:** >:|  
**RIKU:** You're giving all my secrets away, Mickey!  
**MICKEY:** Aw, don't pout!

It hadn't been so bad, Meg's needling. Neither had Mickey's post, or the comments. It felt good to be cared about, after all, to be reminded so frequently and with such ease that people worried over him. _I'm so relieved,_ Kairi had said, and Riku believed it. But, considering how Riku still hadn’t caught up on any of his missing sleep and how badly his head was still pounding, Riku was grateful for the excitement to be over, for the peace and quiet of the outdoors and a semblance of privacy, Mickey and Hercules chatting quietly up ahead, out of earshot. 

Of course, it would have been nice if his own thoughts were as serene as the surrounding landscape.

_A handsome knight far too prone to frowning._

It was stupid, Riku was near certain, for his heart to have shuddered the way it had, hearing that description. Hadn't it only been last night that Sora had called him handsome and pretty as if it was nothing, an easy compliment to hand out? That it somehow broke Riku's brain was _annoying_ , and the fact that it wasn't any less devastating the second time around doubly so.

He just... He wanted to go back to before, when things were simpler. Before Sora's new hair cut and the stupid, hateful barrels and Riku's weird awareness of it all. Riku was afraid, now that Sora was no longer going to be plastic and tiny, that everything was going to get strange again, before he had a chance to figure out these new feelings and subdue them.

He and Sora _would_ be okay, no matter what. Riku knew that, he just wished that things might be easier, that he didn't have to learn how to deal with-- with whatever this attraction might _mean_ , for Riku and his relationship with Sora. 

Last night, everything had seemed better. Strange, yes, but at least Riku had felt confident in his ability to navigate these waters, uncharted though they were. Sora was attractive and Riku could learn to deal with it. But a night unable to sleep, chasing his thoughts round and round without finding any ready solutions, just more fluttering _feelings_ , hadn't left Riku feeling particularly optimistic, it seemed. His reaction to _a handsome knight_ sure wasn't improving his mood any.

Irritated, he pulled out his gummiphone.

**RIKU:**

_A picture of a cheerfully babbling brook._

Where are some heartless when you need a distraction?  
#frustrating #headache #heartache #dumb feelings

He regretted it as soon as he posted it. 

Everything about it was too raw, too real. He didn't want to talk about how he felt, or try to explain it to anyone, not until he had a better handle on the shape of it himself. Naminé would understand that, but Naminé was locked away in Kairi's heart. Everyone else would worry, would pry, in all the kindest, most genuine of heartfelt ways that Riku, quite suddenly, couldn't handle.

He really, _really_ hoped Sora was neck deep in a new world, too busy to check the media feed.

Before Riku had to see if anyone would comment, he turned the gummiphone on silent and shoved it down into his biggest pocket, all the way at the bottom. But he hadn't been able to bring himself to turn it off, so Riku felt the vibration of a notification go off against his leg. He held his breath, waiting, but--

Just one.

He sighed, a little shakily. And after five minutes he was breathing much easier at the lack of any more notifications. Maybe he'd lucked out and posted while everyone else had been busy, and the post would become quietly buried once they returned, full of their own stories and thoughts. But when seven minutes passed that hopeful relief withered up and crumbled to dust: the gummiphone vibrated with a new notification.

And then, it didn't stop.

Eventually, Riku realized it wasn't a massive heap of comment notifications all piling up at once.

It was a video call.

"I have only myself to blame for this," he told the brook, still babbling cheerfully alongside the path. Resigned to his fate, Riku dug his phone out, unsurprised when the name across the screen read **SORA**.

He only hesitated a second before accepting.

"Hey," he said.

Sora made a face. "Hey yourself! What's up? What's this about heartache?"

The background on screen looked fuzzy, Sora holding his gummiphone too close to his face to make much else out. Just those big, blue eyes with their furrowed brow, Sora's mouth tilted in a frown; no longer a plastic toy but intrinsically himself, real and devastatingly human. Riku wanted to claw his skin off for a second or yell in outrage, because, yep -- there went Riku's heart, squeezed tight with longing and affection and that new fiend: irritating, troublesome attraction. 

Even Sora's _eyebrows_ had become distracting, it seemed, which was unbelievably unfair.

Riku huffed. "Nothing."

"Rikuuuuu. C'mon, you can't tell me it's nothing!"

"And yet, I think I just did," Riku said, working hard to keep his tone teasing. 

Sora rolled his eyes in turn. "Ha ha, so clever. Fine, tell me all you want that it's nothing, but I've got a gummigram post that proves otherwise. _And_ your face."

Surprised, Riku stretched out his arm to move the phone away, gaining distance. It put the rest of the world back into perspective for a moment, Mickey and Hercules in the distance, the green grass and white cliffs. As if nothing was strange or wrong; as if it was all inside Riku, only him, lonely heart twisting itself into senseless knots. He had to swallow once with a suddenly tight throat before he could ask: "What's wrong with my face?"

"Nothing," said Sora. "Except you looked worried."

Riku dropped his arm, gummiphone held down by his leg in sweating, restless fingers.

"Whoa!"

"Stop," Riku said. "Just... Give me a minute."

Surprisingly, Sora did. 

For a moment, there was nothing between them save silence. Riku marinated in it, growing more glum and despondent with each echoing, empty second. He remembered Kairi teasing him before leaving for Merlin's with Lea, about how similar Riku's temperament was to Sora's now, and how glad he'd been that she'd noticed. Because Riku _had_ been trying, trying so hard to let go of the lingering bitterness, the guilt, the wariness. 

But it wasn't effortless; staying positive was difficult, and as good as Riku had become at it, apparently he still had wallowing, achingly lonely moments like _this_ one, here and now.

"Hey," Sora said, "you want to meet Little Chef?"

Riku blinked, glancing down at the gummiphone still in his hand.

"We're in Twilight Town, getting ready to try for a new world. We found some new ingredients in Galaxy Toys, though, so I took them to Little Chef, and Uncle Scrooge wanted me to test out some new recipes with the little guy. I've told him about you. Little Chef, I mean, not Uncle Scrooge. Since he doesn't talk, he makes a great listener, you know? A captive audience!"

Riku snorted, amused despite his mood.

"I've told him a lot about you and Kairi, Donald and Goofy and his majesty. I even told him about mom. Mostly, though, I've been... Well, I've been telling him about Roxas."

 _You've been telling him your worries_ , Riku filled in.

"It helps sometimes, just to talk..." 

Sora's voice trailed off, uncertain. 

Riku bowed his head, remembering that, for all of Sora's effortless brightness, he also needed help sometimes. It wasn't just Riku stumbling, falling back into old habits of frustrating moods and pessimism. _Sora_ had days when he wasn't at his best, moments in which he felt small and unsure and afraid. _My friends are my power_ , he always said, and Sora _meant_ that; when he felt weak, he turned to the hearts connected with his, who could share with him their strength until he was steady again.

Riku's twisted heart slowly, painstakingly unknotted, smoothing back into warmth.

He heard Sora clear his throat, suddenly awkward. "Anyway! Right, so, I'm at the bistro, and if you want to meet Little Chef then I'm sure that he'd love to meet you! Hold on, I'm hiding out in the pantry, let me just--"

"Stop," Riku said once more.

"Seriously?" sighed Sora. "You're so pushy."

Riku had to laugh. He brought the gummiphone back up, wrinkling his nose at Sora. " _I'm_ pushy? Me? Are you sure we're not talking about _you_ here?"

Grinning, Sora shrugged. "So, you gonna tell me what's up, or what?"

Riku couldn't, didn't know how to explain it, least of all to Sora -- the weirdness, the strange-familiar way he made Riku feel, how much Riku liked looking at him. But when he opened his mouth to deflect, what came out wasn't the worry he'd been afraid of revealing, but the ones lodged deeper inside, eating away at him.

He said, "It's my fault we're not in the Dark Realm, looking for Aqua."

Sora tilted his head, bangs brushing sweetly against his forehead, his cheeks. "Uhm. What do you mean?"

Riku rubbed at the back of his neck with his free hand, grimacing and surprised; he knew he’d felt guilty, but he hadn’t anticipated needing to _talk_ about this. "My keyblade broke, remember?"

"Yeah, but like -- you got a new one?"

"And that's the problem," Riku admitted. "It... I don't know, I'm having trouble getting the hang of using it. And I shouldn't, right? Merlin made the keychain _through_ me, so I shouldn't have any trouble connecting with it. It's made from my own heart, Sora, just like Way to the Dawn was. So why--"

"Maybe your heart changed without you realizing."

Riku stopped walking. "...What?"

"I dunno," Sora said, squinting into the distance, visibly thinking about the issue so hard that it was at once worrying and hysterical. Riku watched him, feeling greedy for the sight, desperate for advice. "I just... When I change out my keyblades, each one of them is unique, you know? The way my heart connects is different. The feelings and the people that formed them are different. If you try to use them the same way, then..."

Sora blinked and looked back at the screen, focusing on Riku and shrugging again. "If your heart has changed, then you won't be able to connect the same way you did with the old one."

Riku didn't know what to say to that, how to put words to the yawning chasm of worry that filled him. His heart had changed, that much seemed obvious, but he hadn't thought it'd changed _this_ much. 

He said, voice stilted. "I'm tired of making mistakes."

Sora thumbed at his nose, trying unsuccessfully to hide his small smile. "Heh. Riku, we all make mistakes. That's not ever going to change." His smile twitched, then widened. "Especially if we're talking about _you_ , Riku. There are gonna be a lot of mistakes. Just accept it!"

"Tch. _You're_ a mistake," Riku muttered, entirely on reflex.

Sora scowled. "Your face is a mistake."

"Oh? I thought there wasn't anything wrong with my face. Didn't you call me handsome and pretty just last night...?"

Wait. _What_.

Riku froze, entirely still, not even his heart beating. Because had he _actually just said that?_ He could hardly believe it. Yes, Riku did want to get to the point where he could tease Sora about his looks, but he'd planned on going about it carefully, once he'd gotten a handle on it and the way he felt. Not like this, tossing out the words as though they were flippant and inconsequential before he was ready, before he _understood_ , especially when they were anything _but_ flippant and inconsequential to him now.

Sora pursed his lips, annoyed, which effectively derailed Riku's panic.

_Speaking of pretty..._

His heart picked up the pace again, rowdy and bewildered, as Sora tilted his head back and made a show of examining Riku. Which, horribly enough, despite Riku’s worries, his fears and concerns, and the very real issue of his keyblade not behaving properly, made Riku forget about everything else. Made his skin feel all hot and sensitive, tight like a drum. Made his insides shiver, made him breathless, made him _stupid_ and speechless and-- and-- 

One glance, and Riku felt painfully exposed and vulnerable; weirdly enough, he _liked_ it. 

There was very little in that moment that Riku truly understood, his emotions still insistent on speaking a new language he'd not yet learned to translate, but he did understand this:

Riku didn't want Sora to stop looking at him, _seeing_ him in all the ways that might matter.

Sora hummed, "Yeah, but that was _last_ night. You look like hell today. Riku, did you get _any_ sleep?"

"No," Riku managed, voice strangled.

Sora shook his head, tutting in overblown dismay. "A beauty needs their rest, right? Or so I've heard."

Riku choked.

"Hey, you okay?" Sora asked, pulling the phone closer. His fake dismay melted into real concern. "I was just teasing. But you do look like you could use some rest. Take it easy, okay?"

"I can't," Riku said. Then, because he was exhausted and overwhelmed and probably suffering emotional whiplash, and _definitely_ distracted by Sora's pretty, too-blue eyes, he added: "I refuse to be a burden."

 _Oh_ , Riku thought. _Is that what I'm afraid of?_

For so long, all Riku had seemed capable of was poor decisions. Nothing he tried went right. Even attempting to clean up after the mistakes he'd made was messy, imperfect, full of frustration and regret. Now that Riku had reached something close to redemption, he was terrified of messing it up again: with Sora, with Aqua, with the fight against the Organization.

He wanted that pure feeling of purpose he'd had, his and Mickey's first trip back to the Dark World. Before Way to the Dawn had broken; before Braveheart was born.

But there wasn't ever any going back, only forward. Riku thought about Meg, about being conditioned by fear, and fighting yourself as well as the world to be able to break those chains. He thought about bravery, and he thought about how it wasn't anything static, or certain. Courage waxed and waned like the moon, born again and again out of weakness, not strength.

It was okay to falter.

It was okay to keep making mistakes.

Riku closed his eyes. Gave himself permission to just be still, to just _breathe_ for a moment, existing as he was, flawed and confused and different than before.

"Jeez, Riku..." 

Riku blinked his eyes back open in time to see Sora pulling a ridiculous face, all scrunched up and goofy. "You're _not_ a burden, trust me. Don't make me call Mickey and tell him how weird you get when you don't sleep enough! Remember when you stayed up all night to finish that science project you forgot about in fifth grade? You were _impossible_ the next day! Oooh, better yet, I'll get Kairi to do it, I _know_ she remembers, you threw your pudding at her during lunch! This'll be great--"

"I'll sleep," Riku protested, nearly laughing despite his tangled, raw nerves. "I surrender, Sora, honest! Please don't remind Kairi of the Pudding Incident. I'll get some rest as soon as I can, I promise."

Sora blew out a breath, visibly relieved. "Good. No more of this burden stuff. You'll figure things out with your keyblade, Riku. I know you will."

"Yeah?"

"Definitely." Sora grinned, brilliant and unstoppable. "You're a Keyblade Master now, after all, _and_ you're Riku. You've got this!"

This time, Riku _did_ laugh. "Thanks, Sora."

"Eh," he thumbed at his nose again, grin softening. "What are friends for? I've got your back, Riku."

Riku's heart had changed, yes, but that didn't have to be a bad thing. At the core of him, the living, beating pulse of who he was, what truly mattered stayed the same. He could be flustered and perplexed by _a handsome knight_ , so long as he also remained that _goof's best friend_. 

"Yeah," Riku said, sleepy, still with a headache, but much happier than before. "Yeah, I know."

\---

**MICKEY:**

_A distant shot of Riku, standing alone next to a babbling brook._

Uh. Seems someone got a little distracted? Riku! Hurry up!  
#what is he doing #don't think he got enough sleep #oh dear #riku #road to the coliseum

 _comments_  
**RIKU:** SORRY  
**RIKU:** I'LL CATCH UL  
**RIKU:** UP*  
**SORA:** o: mistaaaakes  
**RIKU:** Yeah, like your FACE.  
**SORA:** ;D

\---

After the call with Sora, Riku’s brain finally quieted enough for him to enjoy the surrounding landscape. His headache eased to a dull pounding and Riku lost himself to the motion of movement, of one foot in front of the other. When he finally grew bored of the repetition and worried he might fall asleep on his feet, though, he pulled out his gummiphone and refreshed the media feed, but clicked over immediately onto Sora’s. There were three new posts, none of them featuring Sora himself: one of Little Chef balanced on a wooden spoon, another of the range covered in simmering pots and sizzling pans, and a final one of the completed dish.

Riku, now wise in the way of gummigram posts, searched #sora next.

**DONALD:**

_A video, the frame its paused on blurry footage of Sora in a kitchen, copper pots behind him, pepper grinder in hand._

i snuck in to see where the magic happens!  
#legrand bistrot #the master at work #i’m so hungry #little chef #sora 

_comments_  
**GOOFY:** You’re lucky Uncle Scrooge didn’t catch you back there!  
**DONALD:** worth it  
**DONALD:** he got so embarrassed hahaha

Riku hit play, feeling hungry but not for any food. 

Little Chef sat atop Sora’s head, delicately fingered paws gripping tight to spiky tufts of hair. However the rat moved, Sora moved in turn, not always gracefully, but with more competence than Riku ever expected to see from Sora at a cooking range. He couldn’t tell what they were making, Donald’s height keeping his footage well below the counter line, but Riku could only assume that the picture of its final form was what had been posted on Sora’s feed, mouth-wateringly delicious.

The video wasn’t long; a minute and a half, with Donald having snuck in towards the end, apparently, just in time to hear Sora saying to Little Chef amidst the noise of the kitchen, “ _\--I don’t worry about him though, you know? I’ve looked up to him forever, ever since we were kids. I know that no matter what happens, he’ll figure it out. He’s great like that, always finding a way… oh dang, was that too much salt?!”_

Little Chef shook his head in gentle exasperation and tugged at Sora’s hair. Dutifully, Sora brought the wooden spoon up for the rat to taste test. 

_“We good? Awesome! Then I think that about does it, yeah?”_

Even with the modulated quality of Sora’s voice on the video, Riku could hear the satisfaction and good cheer at a job well done. And he could hear the embarrassed wheeze that took over when Sora finally glanced up and saw Donald recording. _“Whaaaat?! You’re not supposed to be in here! How-- How long have you been taking a video?!”_

Donald cackled. The video quickly devolved into staticky sounds, a blur of scenery, and Sora yelling, before it ended abruptly.

Riku dropped his arm, gummiphone back by his leg again in sweaty, still restless fingers. He scrubbed at his face with his other, feeling the heat in his skin, the tender ache of embarrassment. It squirmed in his gut, this feeling of fullness and pleasure, and Riku’s brain kept flickering back and forth from how _good_ Sora looked cooking, flushed with heat from the range and furrow of concentration between his brows, his hands steady and competent and careful, to replaying the words Sora had said to Little Chef.

He wondered if Sora realized how much _Riku_ looked up to _him_.

“Jeez, Sora,” Riku huffed, “You’re not even trying, are you?”

But of course he wasn’t. This was just what Sora _did_ , effortless and true. Riku took a deep breath, glancing ahead of him to see Mickey and Hercules steadily climbing, but still within speaking distance if needed. Riku hadn’t fallen behind this time. 

Finally, Riku felt brave enough to pull up his post from earlier, #heartache.

 _comments_  
**LEA:** tell me about it, man. emotions are rough :\  
**KAIRI:** Aww ): hope you're feeling better, Riku!  
**IENZO:** Hang in there!  
**GOOFY:** Whenever I have a headache, I like to take a bubble bath!  
**DONALD:** he can’t take a bubble bath right now, you idiot!  
**GOOFY:** It was just a suggestion ):  
**LEA:** ooo sign me up for some bubbles

Riku smiled.

He should have trusted them. He should have remembered that none of them were the same as before, that they’d all grown, and more than that, they were growing _together_. They knew him. They would never think less of him, not for something like this. A bad mood, a bad day -- they happened. Support could be offered that wouldn’t cripple him; Riku could afford to be weak in front of his friends. 

**RIKU:** Thanks, everyone! I’m feeling much better.  
**KAIRI:** Yeah?? Good!  
**RIKU:** Yep. (:  
**RIKU:** Some goof called me up and wouldn't stop talking.  
**RIKU:** I didn’t stand a chance.  
**KAIRI:** XD;  
**SORA:** HEY  
**SORA:** I OBJECT  
**RIKU:** <3  
**SORA:** :(  
**RIKU:** <3  
**SORA:** :/  
**RIKU:** <3 ???  
**SORA:** :\  
**RIKU:** <3 !!!!!  
**KAIRI:** omg Riku you need to sleep  
**KAIRI:** GO TO BED  
**RIKU:** Not until some goof returns my affection.  
**SORA:** >:(  
**SORA:** NEVER  
**RIKU:** DO IT  
**RIKU:** <3 <3 <3 <3  
**RIKU:** RETURN MY AFFECTION, SORA  
**KAIRI:** At least you’ve hit silly stage instead of ornery  
**KAIRI:** I haven’t forgotten the pudding incident >:(  
**SORA:** hahahahahaha  
**KAIRI:** Chocolate stains do NOT come out of white shirts!  
**RIKU:** <3 ! <3 ! <3 !  
**RIKU:** Sorry, Kairi, but I’m on a mission.  
**RIKU:** <3 ! <3 ! <3 !  
**LEA:** o cmon this is getting painful  
**LEA:** don't leave the guy hanging!  
**SORA:** FINE  
**SORA:** BUT I STILL OBJECT  
**SORA:** <3 <3 <3  
**RIKU:** (:

\---

That night, in a cot set up in one of the Coliseum’s storage rooms, Riku finally slept easy.

**Author's Note:**

> i laughed, i cried, i screamed, i made disparaging comments... basically, i finished the game \o/ KH3, otherwise known as: getting the gang back together <3 btw did anyone else laugh forever at the riku & mickey cut scene that was like "OH, WE SHOULD CALL SORA" and then you play THE ENTIRETY OF TOY BOX, GET BACK INTO THE GUMMI SHIP, HAVE SORA HEMMING AND HAWING, AND THEN _SORA_ CALLS and somehow it's supposed to STILL BE THAT FIRST SCENE, "OH, WE WERE ABOUT TO CALL YOU, SORA." wtf KH your timeline makes zero sense
> 
> in fic related news, i really meant to write corona this time, but next thing i knew i was ankle deep in sleep deprived!riku angst and loving it, so i figured i'd just keep on going lol
> 
> thank you very much for reading!! <3 hope you enjoyed~


End file.
